After outpacing Kyle Busch for Bristol Truck win, Christian Eckes admits "There is so much behind this win"

Christian Eckes held off a hard-charging Kyle Busch in the final laps of the Truck Race at Bristol Motor Speedway to take his sixth win in the series. This victory held special significance for Eckes, who lost his championship hopes at the same track last year.

In the fall race at Bristol last year, the #19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing driver dominated the event but lost the lead with six laps left for the checkered flag. He eventually failed to qualify for the championship four, but his victory in the season finale served as a bitter reminder of the lost win at Bristol.

In an attempt to redeem himself, Christian Eckes put together another dominant race last Saturday, beating his former boss Kyle Busch to the line by 0.141 seconds. The #19 Chevy Silverado driver reflected on his history at the half-mile oval and labeled the victory as a "sweet" one.

Speaking to Josh Sims in the front stretch interview, Eckes said:

"It's so sweet, yeah there's a lot behind this win. I talked about it earlier and the fans here are crazy, I love it! There is just so much behind this win, from last year, missing out on the championship four and losing the race with five (six) to go. To come back and redeem ourselves, was our number one goal."

The 23-year-old Truck Series driver has recorded two top-10 results and a DNF in the first three races. He added that the victory showed the resilience of the #19 team.

"Not only that, but the first three races, how terribly they have gone we have had a lot of issues. To come back and run really good just shows the resilience of this team. Just super pumped, ready for the next 19 races."

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Christian Eckes claims the #19 team had circled the Bristol Race

After losing out on a win last season, the #19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing driver said that the team had circled this year's event, given their dominant outing during their previous visit to Bristol Motor Speedway.

Christian Eckes replicated his strong performance and qualified on pole last Saturday, and led 144 laps, compared to 150 laps in his previous visit. Eckes put together a stern defense in the final laps to win the race this time around.

He said in a post-race interview (via Augusta Free Press):

"This is a big redemption race for us. It’s probably the one we have circled from hosts on the calendar so to come and have a really good truck and to be able to to win the race is definitely good."

Christian Eckes currently sits fifth in the Truck Series standings, 32 points adrift of leader Tyler Ankrum.